+ recognised +
I stood outside of the bakers that Gilbert and I had raided in the early hours of this morning, standing by the door and letting the bustle morning crowd move past me on the rest of the sidewalk. I had forced Gilbert to go back once they were officially open, convincing him to try the custard pastries my father had favoured to bring home. I held a small on my wrist, the light breeze ripping past my blue dress as it threatened to blow my hat off of my head if I hadn't pinned it into place this morning. It was a perfect Sunday, the carriages and trolley were rolling down the street, people making their way home from church or towards the market to pick up their necessities.
I let out a small sigh, seeing Gilbert still standing in the line through the window, his hat resting in his hands as he waited patiently. The bakers was exceptionally busy with people trying to buy their weeks worth of bread, people filing in and out with baskets of baking goods. I tapped my foot on the stone lightly, getting a little big impatient and wanting to go for a stroll in the park already, the cloudless sky giving us the perfect weather for a walk.
"Catherine Prewett is that you?" I heard someone ask from behind me, my whole body instinctively froze as I stood still, my heart picking up its rate in my chest. I almost thought that I had completely fabricated the moment for a second, thinking of how the voice cut through the sound of the others, probably because they had addressed me directly with me name. The chances of someone recognising in the city were small, but apparently they weren't nothing. I was hoping that whoever it was either no friend to my parents, or that they wouldn't even mention to my parents that they had seen me in the city, or my whole rouse would be completely over. I turned around slowly, slapping a fake my slime on my face and trying to think of the best excuse I could think of on the spot.
I turned around, clasping my hands in front of me to see Tom walking down the sidewalk towards me, stopping in front of me as I let out a heavy sigh of relief. He smiled at me with a confused look on his face, my head tilting back as I silently thanked the fact that it was just my brother. "Oh my" I sighed, shaking my head as I looked back at my brother, raising my eyebrows at him. "You're a real pain you know that?" I asked him, making him laugh as he nodded his head, pointing at me with his hand that he had just pulled from his pocket.
"Excuse me, I was just on my way to my lecture and you were in my way" he said to me, motioning to his friend who stood behind him slightly, both of them carrying a few books down by their side as I furrowed my eyebrows at Tom's acquaintance. It hadn't been long since I had seen him last, Montgomery Farthing standing behind my brother with a kind smile on his face as I returned it quickly. "It's a Sunday" I stated, looking back at my brother as he nodding his head as if that was obvious. "It's a voluntary lecture" he told me, turning to look at Monty as Tom nodded his head towards me, raising his eyebrows quickly.
"I'll catch up with you Monty" Tom told him as his friend nodded his head, saying a quick goodbye to me before walking around Tom and I back in the direction they were headed. "Monty Farthing?" I asked when he was out of earshot, not having even known that Tom and Monty knew each other out side of my parents invitation to Tom's birthday dinner. "We have a few classes together" he explained with a shrug of his shoulders, knitting his eyebrows together as he looked over at me, people having got divert themselves around the pair of us to get past on the sidewalk. "You never to me you'd be in the city this weekend" he accused, making my face relax as I let out a breezy laugh, slapping on the most genuine smile I could, Tom seeing straight through it.
"Didn't I?" I asked him, still laughing as I pushed the circled strands of my hair away from my face, Tom nodding his head slowly as he raised an eyebrow. "Where exactly are you staying?" he asked me, making my smile drop as I tried to think on whether or not it was worth lying to him or not. "Because it's not in my guest suite" he added quickly, making me laugh once again as I waved my hand dismissively at him. "Well you see" I started, pointing my finger at him nodding my head slowly as my brother awaited my finely curated answer that I still had not made up yet. "I got 6 because I felt bad after the fuss you threw last night last night" Gilbert's voice said from behind me, making me turn quickly to see the brunette walking out of the bakers, looking down at the box he was holding in his hands.
He looked up at me, a smile on his face as his eyes fell to Tom who was standing behind me, laughing lightly as he shook his head. "Oh" Gilbert said as he looked back at me, my eyes wide as I let out a small huff, knowing that all the secrets were no longer a secret. "Gilbert" Tom said, no hint of surprise in his voice as he raised his eyebrows at the boy, Gilbert clearing his throat as he glanced back at me once again, trying to figure out if this was a bad thing or not. "Tom" Gilbert said with a nod of his head, trying to smile but his face holding nothing but what looked like a painful grimace. "It's nice to see you again" He added quickly, Tom standing next to Gilbert and I as he nodded his head down at the box.
"What have we bought this morning?" Tom asked, looking back at me with his eyebrows raised as Gilbert cleared his throat once again. "Custard pastries" he answered for me, making me bow my head as I looked down at my feet, which were covered by the skirt of my dress. "Like what dad used to bring home" "What's this about a fuss last night?" Tom asked, pushing his free hand into his pocket, holding his books down by his side as Gilbert looked over at me trying to gauge how he should answer this question. "Can we sidebar for a moment?" I interrupted quickly, turning to look at Tom with a smile on my face, my eyes wide as I turned back to Gilbert. "Go buy something, I'll be back in a moment" I told him, getting a nod in return. I grabbed Tom by the arm, dragging him down the sidewalk to the small alleyway that was in between the bakers and the building next door, trying not to block the sidewalk anymore.
"Don't you say a word" I said to Tom as I pointed my finger at him, letting out a deep sigh as I flexed my hands down by my side, still frantic that Tom had oddly bumped into us. "You knew that I visited Gilbert on the weekends when I can" I told him, shaking my head slightly as Tom nodded his head in reply very slowly. I wasn't particularly angry with him quite yet, but I was very relieved that he was the one who recognised me in the city and not someone who would tell my parents about it somehow. "And I always assumed that you'd be staying with me when you did" Tom said with a raised eyebrow as I let out a angered groan, tilting my head back as I lifted my hands up in the air as if I was squashing Tom's head between my palms.
"Oh you've got some nerve you know that?" I snapped at him angrily, my eyes wide as Tom let out a sharp laugh, nodding his head slowly. "How?" he asked with a dry chuckle, making me scoff as I crossed my arms over my chest with an accusing look. "When's Prissy coming to visit again?" I asked, Tom looking away from me as his cheeks flushed pink, making me know that I had won that argument very quickly. "You're being reckless" Tom said to me with a nod of his head head, making me square my shoulders back a little bit as I took a step closer to him to show him that I wasn't scared of him.
"And you're being a hypocrite" I retorted, making him nod his head as he flicked his coat sleeve away form his wrist, looking at his watch quickly. "Right well, I have an algebra lecture in 10 minutes so I best be off" he told me, taking a step away as I took in a sharp breath, nervous for him to leave, god knows what he would tell people of I wasn't there to shout at him. "Thomas" I said to him sharply, making him sigh as he turned back to look at me, nodding his head reassuringly as he stared at me with an unreadable look. "My lips are sealed, calm down Katie" he told me, making me let out a deep sigh, setting my hand on my corset in relief that my secret would stay hidden for at least a little longer.
"Thank you" I breathed out, feeling a sweat break out on my forehead from the stress of the past 10 minutes. Tom let out a sigh as he took a few steps away from me again, stopping as he turned around, pointing at me with a small smirk on his face. "Maybe you and I can hang out next week though" he told me, pushing his hand into his pocket nonchalantly as he shrugged one shoulder. "If you're through in the city it wouldn't hurt to pay me a visit" he added, making me sigh once again as I shrugged my shoulders, a playful smile dancing on my lips as I tried to suppress it. "I'll think about it" I countered, making him stride back over to me with an outstretched hand, setting on top of my hair as he tried to shake it through my hair, which would undoubtedly ruin my hairdo.
"Let me know, send a letter before hand" he said as I pushed him away form me, immediately lifting my hands to fix my hair, knowing he had only done that to make me angry. "Leave" I whined to him, making him laugh as he walked back onto the street, shouting a goodbye as I stood alone. I let out a deep sigh, tilting my head to look up at he blue sky, my hand wiping my forehead quickly. It wasn't a desirable situation that Tom knew about my visits, but I knew deep down that he wouldn't say anything to our parents. Plus I had enough dirt to dish on him just in case he did anyway.
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A/N: this is a super long chapter (she's a mammoth of course) but it's a fun one so I hope you don't mind too much
I always had the idea of someone catching out Gilbert and Kate before they got too comfortable with the little scheme that had going on and Tom seemed like the best person to catch them but simultaneously do absolutely nothing about it lmao
please do not forget to vote and comment and i will see you soon